Help for the Homeless?

The Ambassador Hotel is for sale and in danger of being torn down for profitable redevelopment. It occupies close to 24 acres and is in the prime location with the greatest need for schools. What a unique opportunity to purchase it with the purpose of converting it into a multi-school center that would serve the inner city and the Wilshire area.

The $700-million surplus that Gov. George Deukmejian has the absurd intention of giving in a meager tax rebate should go to schools and education, which is what most people are demanding.

Many of the children who would benefit from such a school center now attend half-day sessions in overcrowded classrooms or are soon to be bused to the “end of the San Fernando Valley” or to other distant areas in the city. This is the recent decision of the school board members due to the desperate need for schools in that area and the pursuit of integration.

Taking children so far away from their neighborhoods is unnatural, the complaints are endless, the expense is exorbitant and integration in a forced and artificial environment cannot succeed, as we have seen.

The need for schools in this exceptional location will go on for many years. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help solve a most pressing need and will cost much less in the long run than any of the recent proposals.

EVA L. BARCIA

Los Angeles